All-Star Final Vote is an annual Internet and text message ballot by Major League Baseball fans to elect the final player for each team that participates in the Major League Baseball All-Star Game after all other selections have been made and announced on national television. The first 33 players are selected by a combination of procedures. The sponsorship changes annually, but the contest remains similar from year to year. Each league presents a 5-man ballot and gives the fans a few days to choose one final All-Star.

In 2003, the major league players began electing a reserve for each position as well as five starters and three relievers, although the All-Star game managers performed this duty once.[2] Now, the "Player ballot" includes coaches, managers and players across both leagues who participate in choosing eight reserves and eight pitchers for each All-Star team.[3] Now, the managers only select the starting pitcher from among those pitchers already elected by the players. The managers also select the remainder of the roster spots except for the final spot while ensuring that each team has at least one representative. The All-Star game manager, guided by the baseball commissioner's office, then selects a list of five nominees for the fans to choose from for the remaining roster spot for each league's team.

On the Sunday evening nine days before the scheduled All-Star game, the rosters are announced and the All-Star Final Vote nominees are announced on a nationally broadcast show. The voting commences after the announcement of the nominees toward the end of the show, and continues for a prescribed number of days. Generally, a single daily update of the ballot standings is released during the voting. After voting concludes, the top vote-getter for each league is announced. Over the course of the seven years of the voting, over 100 million votes have been cast.[4]

History

2002 American League All-Star Final Vote winner Johnny Damon was the first American League winner and the first of a record three Boston Red Sox All-Star Final Vote winners.

The first All-Star Final Vote was held during the 2002 season. The 2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game had 30 player rosters so the fans were voting for the 30th player. The 2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game rosters expanded to 32 following the 11-inning 2002 game.[5] As a result, the fans elected the 32nd player. In 2009, the rosters again expanded to 33, including 13pitchers, following the 15-inning 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.[5] In 2003, the first corporate sponsor got involved in the ballot. Over the years, the sponsor has changed and the name of the fan voting procedure has changed both with the changing sponsors and the number of roster spots.

Thus far, many All-Star Final Vote winners have played, but only one (Evan Longoria) has recorded an extra base hit or a run batted in. Chris Young became the first All-Star Final Vote winner to be involved in the decision as the losing pitcher of the 2007 All-Star Game. Johnny Damon was the first to record a hit or score a run.

All charts include seasons (including the current one at the time of the voting) in which the player has appeared in a Major League game for years of experience. Below are some additional abbreviations used throughout. All-star game experience is based on the time of the final ballot nominations (before voting).

Results

Key

*

Election winners

^

All-Star Game substitutes

2002 candidates

2002 National League All-Star Final Vote winner Andruw Jones was the first National League winner.

In 2002, the All-Star game rosters had 30 positions on each team so the fan voting was for the thirtieth roster spot. As a result, the official name of the contest was "The All-Star 30th Man".[8] The voting lasted only two days and was held exclusively online through each of the 30 teams' official websites and ESPN.com.[9] The voting for the July 9, 2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Final Vote started on June 30 and concluded on with the announcement of the results on July 2, 2002.[8] Both winners, Johnny Damon and Andruw Jones played center field and recorded 3 official All-Star game at bats.[10]

2003 candidates

2003 American League All-Star Final Vote winner Jason Varitek gave the Boston Red Sox the first back-to-back All-Star Final Vote winners.

In 2003 the final vote had a named sponsor and the rosters expanded to 32 positions. In 2003, ballot substitution was instituted. On Monday July 7, 2003, Kenny Lofton was added to the ballot to replace the Chicago Cubs' Corey Patterson who was injured on the day before.[11] The voting for the July 15, 2003 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Final Vote was extended to three days beginning Sunday, July 6, 2003 at 8 PM Eastern Time and ending on Wednesday, July 9, 2003 at 6 pm Eastern Time. Although the leading vote totals (Geoff Jenkins – 2,872,200, Jason Varitek – 3,210,509 of a total 10.8 million)[12] were released in 2003 individual results were not released for all contestants. In fact, the American League did not even release the final ordinal vote ranking with the final results so only the last update ordinal vote ranking is shown below.[13]

Neither Varitek nor Jenkins played, but both Giambi and Castillo batted as well as played in the field 2003 game as substitutes.[14] Giambi replaced Mike Sweeney.[15] Castillo was a last-minute addition to the team.[16]

2004 candidates

2004 American League All-Star Final Vote winner Hideki Matsui gave the All-Star Final Vote international prominence.

The voting for the 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Final Vote again continued for three days, running from Sunday, July 4, 2004 and ending on Wednesday, July 7, 2004.[17] The final results were announced with ordinal vote rankings (shown below) and approximate winning vote totals (Hideki Matsui – 1.2 million, Bobby Abreu – 2 million, of more than 9.5 million votes).[18] Abreu appeared as a pinch hitter, while Matsui both pinch hit and played left field.[19]

2005 candidates

2005 National League All-Star Final Vote winner Roy Oswalt is among a select few to have been nominated for the All-Star Final Vote twice.

In 2005, the contest was again called the "Ameriquest All-Star Final Vote". The voting for the July 12, 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Final Vote again continued for three days, running from Sunday, July 3, 2005 and ending on Wednesday, July 6, 2005. This marked the first time pitchers were nominated and the entire National League ballot was composed of pitchers. The American League ballot was composed of four outfielders and a shortstop.[20] 2005 marked the first year that cell phonetext message voting was possible.[21]Derek Jeter and Roy Oswalt took the voting lead after Day 1.[21] By Day 2, Scott Podsednik overtook Jeter and went on to win.[22] Again, ordinal vote rankings (shown below) and winning vote totals (Podsednik – 3,965,473, Oswalt – 2,652,549 of 15 million votes) were revealed.[23]

Wagner was named to the 2005 team as a replacement for Pedro Martínez but did not play.[24][25] Both Oswalt and Podsednik played, but Podsednik did not record an official at bat.[25]

2006 candidates

2006 National League All-Star Final Vote winner Nomar Garciaparra, a veteran All-Star at shortstop, won in 2006 as a first baseman.

In 2006, the contest was called the "Monster All-Star Final Vote". The voting for the July 11, 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Final Vote again continued for three days, running from Sunday, July 2, 2006 and ending on Wednesday, July 5, 2006. Again, only the ordinal vote rankings (shown below) and the leading vote getter totals (Nomar Garciaparra – 4 million, A. J. Pierzynski – over 3.6 million of 18.6 million votes) were announced by Major League Baseball.[26]

Liriano and Capuano were selected for the All-Star team as substitutes, but did not play.[27] Liriano replaced José Contreras,[28] and Capuano replaced Tom Glavine.[29] Neither Garciaparra nor Pierzynski played.[27]

2007 candidates

2007 American League All-Star Final Vote winner Hideki Okajima was a rookie and first time All-Star.

The 2007 "Monster All-Star Final Vote" included only pitchers (the National League included only starting pitchers). This is the 2nd time (2005) only pitchers were eligible for the final roster spot selection.[30] The voting for the July 10, 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Final Vote was the first four-day election, running from Sunday, July 1, 2007 and ending on Thursday, July 5, 2007. Voting leaders were announced daily. The ordinal vote rankings (shown below) and the leading vote getter totals (Young – over 4.5 million, Okajima – over 4.4 million of 23 million votes) were announced on the MLB.com results posting. Okajima (2–0, 0.88 ERA, & 4 saves in 38 relief appearances)[31] and Young (8–3, 2.00 ERA, 99 K)[32] are both first time all stars.

There was some controversy surrounding Roy Oswalt's nomination because he only had a 7–5 record at the time of nominations making him the only pitcher without eight wins nominated. However, he is considered by many to be the victim of lack of run support, questionable relief pitching and an average defense.[33] This respect was shown by the players who had voted him to sixth place among National League starting pitchers making him the first alternate in case of injury to any of the five elected All-star starting pitchers.[4] On the final day of All-Star Final Vote voting, it was announced that Oswalt (who was running third in the All-Star Final Vote) would replace John Smoltz who withdrew from All-Star game participation due to injury.[34]

2008 candidates

The 2008 "Monster All-Star Final Vote" included no pitchers. The voting for the July 15, 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Final Vote began Sunday, July 6, 2008 and ended on Thursday, July 10, 2008.[38] The ordinal vote rankings (shown below) and the leading vote-getter totals (Longoria – 9 million, Hart – 8 million of 47.8 million votes) were announced on the MLB.com results posting. Longoria and Hart were both first-time all stars.

Longoria drew a record nine million votes for his selection, over second-place finisher Jermaine Dye. Jason Giambi finished in third after a highly publicized "Support the 'Stache" campaign. Brian Roberts finished in fourth, followed by José Guillén. Hart accumulated eight million votes, the second highest vote total in the competition's history. Hart joined teammates outfielder Ryan Braun and pitcher Ben Sheets. Finishing in a close second was New York Mets third baseman David Wright, who eventually made the team as a replacement for injured Chicago Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano.[39]

Longoria was the first third baseman and second rookie to win the Final Vote. Hart's victory marked the third time that a club had a winning representative more than once; Geoff Jenkins (also from the Milwaukee Brewers) was elected in 2003. The other two clubs to have achieved this are the Red Sox (Damon, Varitek and Okajima) and the White Sox (Podsednik and Pierzynski).[40]

The Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers encouraged businesses in Michigan and Pennsylvania to allow their workers time off on Wednesday and Thursday to vote for both Inge and Victorino who were in second place in early voting. Victorino became the fourth Hawaiian (following pitchers Ron Darling, Sid Fernandez and Charlie Hough) to be selected to the Major League All-star game. This year's ballot, which is shown below in order of finish, was influenced by advertisements, online commercials, fliers, merchandise, official endorsements from people such as 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain, and contemporary technology such as Twitter.[42]

2010 candidates

2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game managers Joe Girardi of the American League and Charlie Manuel of the National League presented the 5-man ballots for the 2010 All-Star Game MLB.com Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint to determine the 34th player for each All-Star roster.[43] Votto was named on 13.7 million of the 26 million ballots, followed by Zimmerman, Gonzalez and Wagner, in order. Swisher, who at the time was the most followed Twitter user, edged out Youkilis, in what was described as the closest race in the history of the All-Star Final Vote.[44] Heath Bell was named substitute for Yovani Gallardo before the conclusion of the Final Vote and was removed from the ballot.[44]

2011 candidates

2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game managers Ron Washington of the American League and Bruce Bochy of the National League presented the 5-man ballots for the 2011 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint to determine the 34th player for each All-Star roster. Internet fans were able to vote at MLB.com and MLB team websites, while American and Canadian fans were also able to vote by text.[6] Fans were encouraged to participate as campaign managers by generating votes via Twitter, Facebook and MLB.com websites for their choice.[6] The fans elected Paul Konerko and Shane Victorino with 8.4 and 9.2 million votes of 50 million votes. Victorino was the first-two-time winner.[7][45] MLB.com voters received special offers for discounts or free service.[7]

2012 candidates

2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game offered the fans 5-man ballots to express their opinions in the 2012 All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Firestone to determine the 34th player for each All-Star roster. Internet fans were able to vote at MLB.com and MLB team websites, while American and Canadian fans were also able to vote by text.[46] In the final few hours, fans were allowed to vote via Twitter for the first time by using specific hashtags, but Chipper Jones' name was removed since he had been named to the All-Star game as a replacement for the injured Matt Kemp.[47] The four hours of Twitter voting brought about 2500 votes per minute. Over 50 million votes were cast in the Final vote in total.[48]

2013 candidates

2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game offered the fans 5-man ballots to express their opinions in the 2013 All-Star Game Final Vote to determine the 34th player for each All-Star roster. Internet fans were able to vote at MLB.com, MLB team websites and via by text.[49] In the final six hours, fans were allowed to vote via Twitter.[50] The contest saw an unusual alliance in which Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves fans supported each other's nominees.[51] This resulted in Toronto relief pitcher Steve Delabar and Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman winning the voting. Both Freeman and National League runner-up Yasiel Puig surpassed the 2009 15.6 million vote record, with Freeman totalling 19.7.[52] The overall vote total of 79.2 million votes also surpassed the 2009 record (68.6 million).[50]

Nominees and winners by team

*– Includes replaced nominee
**– Was Anaheim Angels from 1997 to 2004.
***– Was Florida Marlins from 1993 to 2011.
****– Was Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1998 to 2007.
*****– Was Montreal Expos from 1969 to 2004.